According to a press release from the school on Sunday, Chad Baker-Mazara is no longer a part of the 2025-26 USC Trojans basketball team.
The 26-year-old Baker-Mazara left Saturday’s home loss vs. Nebraska after taking a hard fall. After leaving the game, he sat in an area for fans beyond the baseline rather than with his teammates on the bench.
“He said he couldn’t go,” USC head coach Eric Musselman said after the game.
Baker-Mazara has started 22 of 26 games for the Trojans this season, averaging 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 blocked shots and 0.7 steals per game. He had made 44.4 percent of his field-goal attempts, 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers and 89.5 percent of his free throws.
In Joe Lunardi’s most recent ‘Bracketology’ installment released to ESPN on Friday prior to its home loss to Nebraska, USC (18-11 straight up, 13-15 against the spread) was a part of his First Four Out as the fourth team out. California is another team in Lunardi’s First Four Out that lost on Saturday, but New Mexico and Ohio St. picked up big wins vs. San Diego St. and vs. Purdue, respectively.
VCU, Va. Tech, Seton Hall and Cincinnati comprised Lunardi’s Next Four Out. VCU and Cincinnati won this past weekend, while Va. Tech and Seton Hall lost at North Carolina and at UConn, respectively.
As for Lunardi’s Last Four In, Auburn suffered a terrible home loss to Ole Miss, which snapped a 10-game losing streak with its first win since Jan. 17. Indiana lost its fourth consecutive game Sunday at home vs. Michigan St., but TCU and Santa Clara prevailed on Saturday.
USC has lost five straight games to fall to 7-11 in Big Ten play. The Trojans finish the regular season with Wednesday’s road game at Washington and Saturday’s home game vs. UCLA. They’re #67 in KenPom and #63 in the NET rankings.
Baker-Mazara’s collegiate career ends after five seasons with four teams. He played 15 games for Duquesne as a freshman in 2020-21 before a 31-game run with San Diego St. the following season.
Baker-Mazara spent two seasons at Auburn, helping the Tigers to the Final Four last season. However, he was ejected in the first half of a first-round loss to Yale in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Baker-Mazara started 78 of 145 career games, averaging 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 APG. He hit 44.3 percent of his career FGAs, 39.3 percent of his treys and 88.3 percent of his free throws.